ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile exports saw a decline of approximately 6.33 percent during the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year, standing at $5.565 billion compared to $5.940 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The overall exports for the country during the July-October fiscal year 2023-24 totaled $9.6 billion (provisional), reflecting a marginal decrease of 0.48 percent from $9.554 billion during the corresponding period of the previous year.
Data from the PBS indicates that on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, textile exports experienced a growth of 5.61 percent in October 2023, reaching $1.437 billion compared to $1.360 billion in September 2023. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, textile exports increased by 5.92 percent in October 2023 compared to $1.356 billion in October 2022.
For October 2023, total exports amounted to $2.690 billion (provisional), reflecting an 8.64 percent increase from $2.476 billion in September 2023 and a 12.84 percent increase from $2.384 billion in October 2022.
Cotton yarn exports showed a notable increase of 42.85 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, reaching $407.564 million compared to $285.315 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
On a YoY basis, cotton yarn exports registered an 87.88 percent growth, standing at $92.160 million compared to $49.052 million. However, on a MoM basis, there was an 18.85 percent negative growth compared to $113.567 million in September 2023.
Rice exports recorded a growth of 30.12 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, totaling $710.788 million compared to $546.261 million.
Food group exports also increased by 30.29 percent, reaching $1.944 billion compared to $1.492 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The major commodities in exports for October 2023 included knitwear (Rs104,025 million), readymade garments (Rs76,920 million), bed wear (Rs68,298 million), rice others (Rs66,558 million), cotton cloth (Rs47,758 million), oil seeds, nuts, and kernels (Rs33,897 million), towels (Rs26,312 million), cotton yarn (Rs25,838 million), rice basmati (Rs18,783 million), and made-up articles (excluding towels and bedwear) (Rs17,980 million).
The decline in the textile and clothing sector’s exports is attributed mainly to rising production costs and a liquidity crunch. The Caretaker Commerce Minister, Gohar Ejaz, announced last month that the government plans to address these challenges by offering regionally competitive energy prices to textile exporters and resolving cash flow issues through the release of pending sales tax refunds. However, the implementation of this decision is pending.
